ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, Chapter 1 STUDYING THE BRAIN MECHANISMS FOR SENSORY FUNCTIONS, Chapter 2 NEURONAL EXCITABILITY AND SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION, Chapter 3 VISION, Chapter 4 RETINOCORTICAL PATHWAYS, Chapter 5 CORTICAL VISUAL PATHWAYS, Chapter 6 CONCLUSIONS, Chapter 7 WHY STUDY DEVELOPMENT, Chapter 8 MATURATION OF THE RETINOCORTICAL PATHWAYS, Chapter 9 MATURATION OF THE VISUAL CORTEX, REFERENCES